Long before Orlando City’s disappointing early playoff exit to the Chicago Fire last October, the offseason was already in full swing. For Ricardo Moreira, who was named the team’s general manager and sporting director earlier this year, preparations for 2026 and the seasons that follow began at the closing of the summer transfer window. Yes, Orlando had its second-best regular-season in points with 53. Yes, the Lions advanced to the semifinals of the Leagues Cup, which ended in somewhat controversial fashion in a loss to Inter Miami. And yes, Orlando City returned to the postseason for a sixth consecutive year, albeit through a wild-card game. But it was a run of games, a drop in the team’s performance, following that Leagues Cup semifinal loss in the summer that saw Orlando record one win in the final 10 games in all competitions. And it was that wild card game against Chicago, Moreira revealed specifically, that left a bittersweet taste in the team’s mouth. “We had to pull the plug and assess that game with a different view that goes beyond the performance on the field,” Moreira told WESH 2. “I’m talking about the locker room, I’m talking about culture, I’m talking about things that someone new in my position wants to change in the club going forward, and thinking about the long-term goals of the team.” Despite the successes of previous seasons, including an Open Cup title in 2022, a second-place finish in the Supporters’ Shield standings in 2023, and an Eastern Conference final appearance in 2024, the bar was raised, said Moreira. So, how does Moreira envision success for Orlando City? And what does it look like in 2026? “The expectation that I have for this team is to put this team in a position to compete for titles, for trophies in every competition, in every season from now on,” Moreira said. “I’m very aggressive in the market. And I think people around here know that. Being the captain of this boat, I think you’re gonna see more of that, more of this aggressiveness in the market. And that doesn’t mean paying more for players, but that means doing what we believe is right for Orlando City to be in a position to compete and win.” Moreira added it’s big shoes to fill following what his predecessor, Luiz Muzzi, built during his tenure, in which Moreira had some shared responsibility before his current role. “The expectation for us to put a star on the crest, and thinking I’m a more medium-long-term person in this organization. I want to do this in 2026, and 2027, and 2028. I want to build a strong team for ‘26, but I already have to plan ‘27, ‘28, and be smart about some decisions that are going to make the team stronger for the seasons to come.” The reloadMoreira isn’t calling this offseason a rebuild, nor a restructuring. But rather a reloading of the team. The offseason so far has seen the team part ways with 8 players, with Dagur Dan Thorhallsson and Thomas Williams most recently getting traded, respectively, to Montreal and NashvilleMoreira said there’s roster space to improve from previous seasons, but admitted the team’s cap space remains tight, which has prompted creative ways to sign players and have them ready for the first day of preseason camp on Jan. 12. “I think we’re gonna find good solutions with what we have,” said Moreira. “Not to forget that when you come from successful seasons in every American sport, there’s a point where you’re gonna have some cap restrictions and limitations just because players reach bonuses, sellers go high, and you have to work with that. There’s some wiggle room again to be creative, but it’s not that we have free money in the bank and blank checks to bring players. We have to be smart about it.” Brazilian players Luis Otavio from Internacional and Tiago Souza of Bahia have been recently linked with a move to Orlando, according to a report from The Athletic. Moreira could not confirm the interest, but did reveal the team has two U-22 Initiative spots open with some leftover allocation funds from the 2025 season, which allows the team some flexibility to make key signings. “We’re going to try to actively fulfill the two Under-22 spots and bring players that will play an active role or starting job for Orlando City,” said Moreira. A starting goalkeeper to replace Gallese is another priority for the Lions, with Moreira saying the team is highly engaged in MLS free agency, adding that a strong set of MLS-experienced players can be beneficial. “We’re going to be very active. If we’re going to sign the players or not, it’s up to the soccer gods,” said Moreira. “But we’re exploring free agency heavily, and I think the fans and people can expect a couple of good signings, not only for free agency, but from the other mechanisms that are out there for the winter.” Orlando also holds four first-round draft picks for the Dec. 18 MLS SuperDraft, and Moreira expects a strong draft class in this year’s edition. The future of Alex FreemanOnce preseason camp officially gets underway around the second week of January, Moreira told WESH 2 that American right back Alex Freeman will report to the first day of training. “We’re super happy with him,” said Moreira. “He’s going to be wearing purple, and we’re working to keep Freeman for years to come with Orlando City, and hopefully we’re going to be successful in this regard.” Freeman had a breakthrough year for the Lions in 2025, cementing his role in the starting lineup and earning consistent call-ups to the U.S. men’s national team amid a World Cup scheduled for this summer. The player is out of contract at the conclusion of the 2026 season, but reported outside interest in Freeman is there. Whether he signs a new contract with the Lions remains unclear. “We’ve been negotiating. I can’t get into any details, but obviously, as I said to everyone in this club, and to every player and to every employee, the club comes first,” said Moreira. “At the same time, we would love to see Alex in purple for years to come, and to work with him to help him fulfill his dreams and his career goals down the line, which is what we do with every player that we have in the roster.” The Academy kidsOrlando has become accustomed to signing homegrown players from its academy. But the question falls to how many of those homegrown players signed to the first team have played consistently in Major League Soccer? It’s hard to tell. Alex Freeman is an exception, though, considering he rose from the academy to Orlando City B to the MLS team. Despite the recent departures of Thomas Williams, Favian Loyola, and Mason Stajduhar earlier this year, Moreira still believes the academy is capable of producing talent for first team and is approaching this upcoming year by opening more space for those players to have a direct impact on the first team. “If we keep things the same, we’re gonna get the same results that we’re getting,” said Moreira. “For me, a successful season can mean very different things. We’re gonna aim for the championships, but a successful season can also be looking at a player from the academy having 1,500 minutes, 2,000 minutes, 2,500 minutes, and being able to put Orlando City in a position to have more flexibility in the cap if you have players from your academy with good minutes or starting positions in the first team.” “Having Orlando City players from the academy going abroad and bringing good transfer funds for the club, and putting the name of the club as a strong developer and a strong club in the market, which is something we have a reputation for and can be even stronger.” But the demand is twofold, meaning players such as Colin Guske, Gustavo Caraballo, Tahir Reid-Brown, and Zakaria Taifi have to be capable of putting the work, with the expectation of them being more involved in 2026, said Moreira. Working with Oscar With a new leadership title comes different demands, according to Moreira. This offseason will be his first as the sporting director and GM of the Lions. That’s not to say he isn’t experienced. His time as assistant GM and technical director saw him play out key deals for Orlando. But Moreira’s relationship with head coach Oscar Pareja has changed since taking the top sporting executive job. A good change he said, but a working progress. “It’s a deeper and more meaningful relationship now because we know the responsibility that we have, and I like to have the head coach on board, and every decision that is made,” said Moreira. “I will never bring a player that the head coach is not fully on board with.” The role has brought a new approach, however, on how to establish a working partnership, said Moreira. “It’s just a different relationship than we had before,” said Moreira on Pareja. “I’m a different person than my predecessor, and we have different goals, we have different views, and we try to align that in the best way possible to the benefit the team.” Calendar shift Last month, MLS announced it was aligning its competition calendar with the rest of the European leagues. The shift would begin in summer 2027. With that, the regular season would start in mid-to-late July 2027 and run through May 2028. “We’re going to be in a position where we’re going to be able to find more opportunities in the European markets to bring players in after European seasons are over in May,” said Moreira. “We’re going to be more active in the marketing and the selling side of the business.”Moreira alludes to the circumstances in which MLS teams have players performing well during the summer, and are put in a position to either sell a player or reject offers. “The priority for us as a front office, as a soccer operation, and ownership as well is we care about results on the field first,” he added. “We care about the team first. So in the last couple of seasons, we’ve been refusing good offers for our players just because we want to. We want to keep competing, and we want to keep this group strong enough to be able to go in and win titles.” Mike Gramajo is an Assignment Editor and Sportswriter at WESH 2, who has covered the Orlando soccer scene since 2012. You can follow his coverage over on X and Instagram.

Long before Orlando City’s disappointing early playoff exit to the Chicago Fire last October, the offseason was already in full swing.

For Ricardo Moreira, who was named the team’s general manager and sporting director earlier this year, preparations for 2026 and the seasons that follow began at the closing of the summer transfer window.

Yes, Orlando had its second-best regular-season in points with 53. Yes, the Lions advanced to the semifinals of the Leagues Cup, which ended in somewhat controversial fashion in a loss to Inter Miami.

And yes, Orlando City returned to the postseason for a sixth consecutive year, albeit through a wild-card game.

But it was a run of games, a drop in the team’s performance, following that Leagues Cup semifinal loss in the summer that saw Orlando record one win in the final 10 games in all competitions.

And it was that wild card game against Chicago, Moreira revealed specifically, that left a bittersweet taste in the team’s mouth.

“We had to pull the plug and assess that game with a different view that goes beyond the performance on the field,” Moreira told WESH 2. “I’m talking about the locker room, I’m talking about culture, I’m talking about things that someone new in my position wants to change in the club going forward, and thinking about the long-term goals of the team.”

Despite the successes of previous seasons, including an Open Cup title in 2022, a second-place finish in the Supporters’ Shield standings in 2023, and an Eastern Conference final appearance in 2024, the bar was raised, said Moreira.

So, how does Moreira envision success for Orlando City? And what does it look like in 2026?

“The expectation that I have for this team is to put this team in a position to compete for titles, for trophies in every competition, in every season from now on,” Moreira said. “I’m very aggressive in the market. And I think people around here know that. Being the captain of this boat, I think you’re gonna see more of that, more of this aggressiveness in the market. And that doesn’t mean paying more for players, but that means doing what we believe is right for Orlando City to be in a position to compete and win.”

Moreira added it’s big shoes to fill following what his predecessor, Luiz Muzzi, built during his tenure, in which Moreira had some shared responsibility before his current role.

“The expectation for us to put a star on the crest, and thinking I’m a more medium-long-term person in this organization. I want to do this in 2026, and 2027, and 2028. I want to build a strong team for ‘26, but I already have to plan ‘27, ‘28, and be smart about some decisions that are going to make the team stronger for the seasons to come.”

The reload

Moreira isn’t calling this offseason a rebuild, nor a restructuring. But rather a reloading of the team.

The offseason so far has seen the team part ways with 8 players, with Dagur Dan Thorhallsson and Thomas Williams most recently getting traded, respectively, to Montreal and Nashville

Moreira said there’s roster space to improve from previous seasons, but admitted the team’s cap space remains tight, which has prompted creative ways to sign players and have them ready for the first day of preseason camp on Jan. 12.

“I think we’re gonna find good solutions with what we have,” said Moreira. “Not to forget that when you come from successful seasons in every American sport, there’s a point where you’re gonna have some cap restrictions and limitations just because players reach bonuses, sellers go high, and you have to work with that. There’s some wiggle room again to be creative, but it’s not that we have free money in the bank and blank checks to bring players. We have to be smart about it.”

Brazilian players Luis Otavio from Internacional and Tiago Souza of Bahia have been recently linked with a move to Orlando, according to a report from The Athletic.

Moreira could not confirm the interest, but did reveal the team has two U-22 Initiative spots open with some leftover allocation funds from the 2025 season, which allows the team some flexibility to make key signings.

“We’re going to try to actively fulfill the two Under-22 spots and bring players that will play an active role or starting job for Orlando City,” said Moreira.

A starting goalkeeper to replace Gallese is another priority for the Lions, with Moreira saying the team is highly engaged in MLS free agency, adding that a strong set of MLS-experienced players can be beneficial.

“We’re going to be very active. If we’re going to sign the players or not, it’s up to the soccer gods,” said Moreira. “But we’re exploring free agency heavily, and I think the fans and people can expect a couple of good signings, not only for free agency, but from the other mechanisms that are out there for the winter.”

Orlando also holds four first-round draft picks for the Dec. 18 MLS SuperDraft, and Moreira expects a strong draft class in this year’s edition.

The future of Alex Freeman

Once preseason camp officially gets underway around the second week of January, Moreira told WESH 2 that American right back Alex Freeman will report to the first day of training.

“We’re super happy with him,” said Moreira. “He’s going to be wearing purple, and we’re working to keep Freeman for years to come with Orlando City, and hopefully we’re going to be successful in this regard.”

Freeman had a breakthrough year for the Lions in 2025, cementing his role in the starting lineup and earning consistent call-ups to the U.S. men’s national team amid a World Cup scheduled for this summer.

The player is out of contract at the conclusion of the 2026 season, but reported outside interest in Freeman is there.

Whether he signs a new contract with the Lions remains unclear.

“We’ve been negotiating. I can’t get into any details, but obviously, as I said to everyone in this club, and to every player and to every employee, the club comes first,” said Moreira. “At the same time, we would love to see Alex in purple for years to come, and to work with him to help him fulfill his dreams and his career goals down the line, which is what we do with every player that we have in the roster.”

The Academy kids

Orlando has become accustomed to signing homegrown players from its academy. But the question falls to how many of those homegrown players signed to the first team have played consistently in Major League Soccer?

It’s hard to tell. Alex Freeman is an exception, though, considering he rose from the academy to Orlando City B to the MLS team.

Despite the recent departures of Thomas Williams, Favian Loyola, and Mason Stajduhar earlier this year, Moreira still believes the academy is capable of producing talent for first team and is approaching this upcoming year by opening more space for those players to have a direct impact on the first team.

“If we keep things the same, we’re gonna get the same results that we’re getting,” said Moreira. “For me, a successful season can mean very different things. We’re gonna aim for the championships, but a successful season can also be looking at a player from the academy having 1,500 minutes, 2,000 minutes, 2,500 minutes, and being able to put Orlando City in a position to have more flexibility in the cap if you have players from your academy with good minutes or starting positions in the first team.”

“Having Orlando City players from the academy going abroad and bringing good transfer funds for the club, and putting the name of the club as a strong developer and a strong club in the market, which is something we have a reputation for and can be even stronger.”

But the demand is twofold, meaning players such as Colin Guske, Gustavo Caraballo, Tahir Reid-Brown, and Zakaria Taifi have to be capable of putting the work, with the expectation of them being more involved in 2026, said Moreira.

Working with Oscar

With a new leadership title comes different demands, according to Moreira.

This offseason will be his first as the sporting director and GM of the Lions. That’s not to say he isn’t experienced. His time as assistant GM and technical director saw him play out key deals for Orlando.

But Moreira’s relationship with head coach Oscar Pareja has changed since taking the top sporting executive job. A good change he said, but a working progress.

“It’s a deeper and more meaningful relationship now because we know the responsibility that we have, and I like to have the head coach on board, and every decision that is made,” said Moreira. “I will never bring a player that the head coach is not fully on board with.”

The role has brought a new approach, however, on how to establish a working partnership, said Moreira.

“It’s just a different relationship than we had before,” said Moreira on Pareja. “I’m a different person than my predecessor, and we have different goals, we have different views, and we try to align that in the best way possible to the benefit the team.”

Calendar shift

Last month, MLS announced it was aligning its competition calendar with the rest of the European leagues. The shift would begin in summer 2027.

With that, the regular season would start in mid-to-late July 2027 and run through May 2028.

“We’re going to be in a position where we’re going to be able to find more opportunities in the European markets to bring players in after European seasons are over in May,” said Moreira. “We’re going to be more active in the marketing and the selling side of the business.”

Moreira alludes to the circumstances in which MLS teams have players performing well during the summer, and are put in a position to either sell a player or reject offers.

“The priority for us as a front office, as a soccer operation, and ownership as well is we care about results on the field first,” he added. “We care about the team first. So in the last couple of seasons, we’ve been refusing good offers for our players just because we want to. We want to keep competing, and we want to keep this group strong enough to be able to go in and win titles.”

Mike Gramajo is an Assignment Editor and Sportswriter at WESH 2, who has covered the Orlando soccer scene since 2012. You can follow his coverage over on X and Instagram.